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Sampling Device to Extract Intact Cores in Saturated Organic Soils
Author(s) -
Caldwell P. V.,
Adams A. A.,
Niewoehner C. P.,
Vepraskas M. J.,
Gregory J. D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2005.0150
Subject(s) - soil water , head (geology) , suction , geology , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , soil science , engineering , mechanical engineering , geomorphology
Physical property data on organic soils are lacking due to difficulty in collecting undisturbed samples from these frequently saturated and weakly consolidated soils. A sampling device was constructed to extract undisturbed cores from saturated organic soils in a forested setting. The sampler consists of a 100‐cm‐long, 7.6‐cm‐diam. schedule 40 PVC pipe that was fitted with female threaded adapters on either end. A cutting head was constructed to cut through the fibric root mat and other woody debris in the profile by gluing a 7.6‐cm‐diam. hole‐saw to a male threaded adaptor that was attached to the PVC pipe. The sampler was rotated by hand into the organic soil with gentle downward pressure. When the desired depth was reached, the remaining air space in the PVC pipe was filled with water and a threaded cap was used to seal the top of the sampler. A 1.3‐cm‐diam. galvanized pipe was inserted next to the sampler to add water to the bottom of the core, relieving the suction created as the core was pulled from the soil. The sampler and vent pipe were pulled from the soil either by hand or with a tripod–winch arrangement. Before the cutting head was raised above the water table, it was removed and replaced with another threaded PVC cap. The 100‐cm‐long pipe containing the soil core was then cut into 7.6‐cm‐long sections using a wheel‐type PVC pipe cutter. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil water characteristics were then measured in the laboratory using the resulting 7.6‐cm‐long samples encased in the PVC cylinders.